DWT sites: DWT | Tokyo Zakka! Japanese Gadgets! | WeTokyo Friendfinder | Jobs in Japan | Eigo Factory | Snapp! Mobile PR & Marketing NEW!!


Shoppers to Toshiba: You shouldn’t have bothered
February 25th, 2008

Even though we’ve heard of some fantastic customer service for Japanese early adopters of the failed HD DVD format, it seems not everyone’s happy with the brave face being put on by Toshiba.

In fact, a new survey by Nikkei Publications has found that almost half of respondents think Toshiba should never even have bothered with HD DVD in the first place.

Asked, “At what point do you think Toshiba should have decided to withdraw from the HD DVD business?” 43 per cent said it should have done so in 2005 when it was still in talks with the backers of Blu-ray about finding a common high-definition format.

The poll of almost 1,000 Japanese geeks offered some small consolation for Toshiba in that just under 30 per cent backed its choice to wait until now to pull the plug.

Better yet, just under half of the technology and finance publisher’s readers felt that the format war wasn’t all bad news. A healthy 47 per cent said that “the format competition accelerated technical progress.”

(Crossposted to TechRadar)

Hire us to write for you, consult on Japan tech and more.
Click here and let us know what you need and maybe follow us on Twitter for all sorts of Japan adventuring.


01:29 AM Mark Hiratsuka • Permalink
Home theater | Japan | Video
Tagged with: hd dvd surveys toshiba
Add a comment | More DWT | Get a cool job in Japan! | Follow us on Twitter

Share this story online:

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Or try the world's biggest matchmaking site:


Japanese gadgets from Tokyo Zakka!Perfect gifts for your nerdiest friends back home!


Next entry: Panasonic Blu-ray boss says HD DVD death was suicide

Previous entry: Biotech nose filters keep delicate nostrils oh-so clean


C'mon - let's hear it...

Spammers beware: Any links in comments to commercial websites will be treated as paid advertising and will be charged at rate of $10 per link per day. Invoices will be sent to the idiots who hire you for so-called SEO jobs. All you good people will always keep it real, of course - thanks!